Atlanta’s The Carolyn are one of the great “under the radar” punk bands. Billing themselves as a melodic punk band who “make music for overthinkers”, their classic sound – drawing heavily from the classic influence of Face To Face and Strike Anywhere – relies as much on rousing hooks and huge, accessible melodies as punky riffs.
Author Archives: Real Gone
AVERY FRIEDMAN – New Thing
Brooklyn’s Avery Friedman only began playing live shows in 2024, and didn’t spend years honing her sound before the recording and release of her 2025 debut ‘New Thing’, so the album’s songs still have an element of freshness and occasional naivete. You couldn’t call the material raw, though, or even suggest its potential has been sold short in any way. The best of the record’s eight songs represent brilliantly crafted indie pop, often sharing a sound that’s much older than Friedman’s years, but everything is presented in a hugely confident manner.
DECREPIT YOUTHS – Love Psycho Kill Machine EP
When it comes to creating crossover sounds, Newcastle’s Decrepit Youths don’t mess around. The three tracks that make up their ‘Love Psycho Kill Machine’ EP take in influences from metal, hardcore, darkwave and industrial, only to spit everything back as an angry, but very distinctive noise; one that feels very assured for a band that’s still relatively new at the time of this release.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #115
This visit to the Singles Bar is quite guitar driven in places, with a brilliant single from a Scottish pop-rock band, some heavy shoegaze, and a slab of enormous sounding stoner rock providing the backbone of the eight picks. That said, there’s still enough of a deviation from rock influences to make this as strong as previous Singles Bar selections, with a soulful number shared by one of George Ezra’s colleagues, a great synth based track, and a piece of soul driven pop ready to be discovered. As always, of course, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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Watch: Manchester’s The Fear share crushing cover of James classic ‘Sit Down’
British indie pop band James are beloved by many and have released a fine run of singles over the decades. ‘Come Home’, ‘Sound’ and ‘Getting Away With It’ are arguably among their best, but it’s only really ‘Laid’ and mega-hit ‘Sit Down’ that get heard on radio or in public with any kind of regularity. ‘Sit Down’ has become so overplayed over the years that you might not feel like you ever want to hear it again.